


Put back the shards

by yuuago



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Gen, Prologue Era (Stand Still Stay Silent), Teaching, Year 0 (Stand Still Stay Silent)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-14 16:24:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9192800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuuago/pseuds/yuuago
Summary: Veeti's life has changed in ways that he never expected.You can get used to almost anything if you're willing to do your best.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wavewright62](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wavewright62/gifts).



> Hi, Wavewright~! I loved your prompts.  
> I decided to take it in snapshots, with a very early-years approach. :) I hope you'll enjoy it. Have a nice day!

The world was ending. At least, that was what it sounded like. If the guys on the radio were anything to go by, the outside world was getting _very serious_. Like if you met anybody, and you didn’t know where they’d been, you had to be careful. Otherwise, you might drop dead in a matter of minutes.

The television was worse.

Veeti watched it down in the rec room, turning the volume as low as he could so that he wouldn’t be caught with the news on. The adults didn’t like it when he had the television going, so it was better to make sure they wouldn’t know. Movies and games were okay; they didn’t mind if he shoved a DVD into the player. But they got weird if he put on the news channel. It was like they didn’t want him to know what was going on out there.

Didn’t they know he could handle it? He wasn’t a baby any more.

Veeti held Misu-Misu close, stroking her fur to try to distract himself from what he was hearing. He didn’t know what _martial law_ meant, but it didn’t sound good.

The schoolbooks that he had brought down with him sat on the table, neglected. Veeti knew he should get back to them - probably. But it was hard to concentrate on mathematics homework at a time like this. He tried, sure he did, but after being out of school for more than a week, he’d forgotten how to do a lot of it, and he didn’t really feel like re-learning it. Not yet.

The newscaster lady’s voice was firm, even, and flat as she named the areas that the illness had spread to.

There were a lot of them.

Even though they’d closed the borders days ago, it was still coming.

Veeti pressed his face into Misu-Misu’s fur and listened to the sound of her purring.

* * *

His cousin came into the world screaming.

Everyone else tried to stay calm, but it looked like on the inside, they were screaming too.

Veeti wrapped his arms around himself and tried to ignore it.

The adults were inside the boat, taking care of Auntie Aino and making sure that the new baby was okay. At first, he had wondered if he should stay in there too. Maybe he could help with the - well. Maybe he could just help.

But there were too many people, and there was too little space, and he kept getting underfoot, and so was Misu-Misu, and eventually Auntie Kaino told him that the best thing he could do to help would be to take Misu-Misu, and bring her upstairs, and keep her out of the way so that nobody would step on her.

And she _didn't_ say that he should stay out of the way so that nobody would step on _him_. Veeti was glad for that.

So, he’d scooped up the cat, and went upstairs, and put on his coat, and stepped outside.

It was cold, but not too much. And the sun was out. That was all right. Veeti squinted into the brightness, the light glittering on the ice and snow that had fallen the night before, and carefully held the cat to his chest.

The noise had died down inside, at least. That was good. Probably. Maybe? They weren't fussing any more.

Veeti took a deep breath. Let it out, let it fog the air. Initially, he’d been curious about Auntie Aino and Uncle Saku’s baby. Back when he’d first heard about it, when things had been normal and boring and going exactly the way they always had, the idea had seemed… nice? Exciting, maybe, a little. Everyone was so happy about it. It would be kind of cool to have a cousin, though it would be even better when she got older.

But as he looked out at the steel-grey sky and the iced-over lake from the deck of the boat that, for better or worse, was now their home, he couldn’t help but worry. Things were different now. And weird. And… scary.

* * *

“Try again,” Veeti said, in as patient a tone as he could manage. “I know you can do it.”

Ensi folded her arms on the table, put her head on them, and huffed. “I don’t want to.”

That makes two of us, Veeti thought. It was hard not to roll his eyes. Somehow, he managed, but it wasn’t easy at all. Nothing concerning Ensi was ever easy.

“Let’s take a break,” he said. “Just for a couple of minutes.”

"Fine." Ensi pursed her lips, looking like she had sucked on a lemon. Not that she'd know what a lemon was, or understand if he told her. "Why do I have to learn this stuff? It's useless."

Veeti sighed, and shook his head, and carefully closed the books. They were a little rough at the edges, a little worn, just like everything else that they had kept after the end of everything. _These_ books weren't ones that he would have chosen to use to teach his cousin to improve her reading. He would have picked something easier, one of the books that he'd loved when he was a kid, the ones with the really great pictures. 

But his old schoolbooks were all they had. Those, and his notebooks, which had been repurposed for other things - kindling, scrap paper, journal, log book. A scribbler for Ensi. She'd have to learn to write _somehow_.

They'd make do.

"It's not useless," he said, nudging aside one of the cats as he moved the small pile of books to the seat beside him. "It's important. And writing, too."

"But _why_?"

Because it is, Veeti thought, and if I had to go through this then you have to too, even if it's the end of the world and who-knows-what.

Instead of saying that, he composed himself, and took a long breath. Think, think. How could he explain? How could he put it in a way she'd understand... His cousin was goat-stubborn and wouldn't give in unless he could come up with something that could satisfy her.

"Because it's a tool. You know? Just like a knife, or a hammer, or... you know." He groped for the word. 

Ensi squinted at him. She looked sceptical. Not that Veeti blamed her. Keep trying, he thought. "Do you remember last winter? When Auntie Kaino came home with all those papers with writing on them?"

Ensi hesitated. Squeezed her eyes shut, like that would help her remember it better. "...Yeah? So what?"

"That was when she met that old lady with the big boat. Remember? We saw her from the shore. That woman wrote down those things for her, all that stuff about which places were safe to go and which islands had people who were safe to talk to."

"I remember." A pause. "She said the lady smelled like fish."

"Well, nobody's perfect." Veeti shrugged. "Anyway the point is, the fish-lady didn't just tell her, because there was too much to just remember. She wrote it all down so that she'd be able to bring it with her. And that way Auntie Kaino could show everyone which places were safe. She wouldn't forget anythign if it's written down." Veeti watched. There was something on Ensi's face; that look she got when something was finally starting to make sense. "That's why it's a tool. Words are something you can carry around with you. You can use reading to help people. You know?"

Ensi stared at him. Then she looked at the pile of books beside him. Her mouth twisted into a frown, then a pout.

Then she held out her hand.

"Give me that," she said.

She phrased it more sharply than any little kid should have, but Veeti wasn't about to lecture her for snapping at him. Not when she finally seemed interested.

"Okay," he said, smiling as he handed over the easiest of his old schoolbooks, flipping open to the first page so she could read it out to him. "Let's try again."

They didn't have much. Hardly anything.

But maybe if she was willing - if they were both willing to try - that would be enough.


End file.
